Humans of 3Q: Meet Lauren Crain

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Our Humans of 3Q series continues this week with Lauren Crain, an Account Manager in our Charlottesville office. Get to know Lauren below:

Tell us about your team and what you do.

I am an Account Manager for 3Q Accelerate. I manage paid social and paid media accounts for smaller to medium-sized businesses; we typically work with a large number of startups. It’s a really fun space to be working in because no day is the same and my clients vary in many ways. I am the main point of contact for all of our clients, develop strategic initiatives, and work with Account Associates on the execution of those initiatives.

What’s one marketing lesson you wished you had learned earlier?

One marketing lesson I wish I had learned earlier would be get to the point. Customers have a short attention span and are busy. They want advertisers to get to the point quickly. That is why we see that the optimal Facebook video is 15-30 seconds.

When coworkers from other offices come to visit, what’s one thing they absolutely have to do in Charlottesville?

The one thing I would say people need to do if they visit Charlottesville is go hiking. Since we are located in central Virginia, we are surrounded by some of the best hiking around. One of my favorite hikes is Old Rag; it’s a 9-mile hike located about 45 minutes from Charlottesville. We also have some great wineries and craft breweries that are always great to visit after!

Tell us about your morale associate (pet) if you have one.

Sadly, I don’t have a morale associate, but if I did it would be a black lab or golden retriever. We do have a couple of pets that visit the office frequently and they are always fun to play with.

What’s been the coolest thing you’ve done with your unlimited PTO?

I recently got back from Iceland. It was my first trip out of the US, which was very exciting! I spent my time exploring western and southern Iceland. I went snowmobiling to a glacier, saw the northern lights, stood next to a waterfall, did some hiking, and visited the blue lagoon. It was an awesome trip! I can’t wait to go back to Iceland during the summer, when there is more sunlight.

Your team is hiring. What are the benefits for someone looking to join?

We have a lot of great benefits for 3Q as a whole – unlimited vacation, great working environment, 401K matching, etc. Specifically, in Charlottesville we have some fun perks like a nitro coffee keg (my personal favorite), craft beer keg, and a stocked snack closet. We are also get lunch catered every Wednesday and have two outings a month, which have included bowling, happy hours, and dinners.

If you were given an unlimited amount of money to invest into one upcoming or exciting marketing technology, what would it be?

If I could invest in one upcoming marketing technology, I would have to choose investing in an attribution platform. Attribution has become such a hot topic and the industry is trying to understand the influences of different marketing channels on one another. This is very important as we start to pivot into a more digital world with more budget getting funneled online. It leads to the question: do we value a view on a Facebook video the same as a TV ad?

If I could pick one more initiative, I would invest in video creation. I have seen remarkable success with YouTube and Facebook video campaigns. Videos allow a brand to engage with a user very quickly and can easy portray their value proposition. As spend starts to increase for digital marketing, I think video will follow suit at a stronger rate.

What’s your favorite TED talk?

I used to watch a lot of TED talks. I would listen when I was doing chores, long drives, etc. This is an older TED talk but still one of my favorites. It is inspiring and really speaks to finding something that you are passionate about and making that a career. I remember listening to this during college and feeling very inspired. I think this is applicable to people at all stages of their career.

What’s your favorite GIF?

Bridesmaids is one of my favorite movies, and I think Kristen Wiig is hysterical. This comes from one of my favorite scenes in the movie.

About the author

Kelly Whelan

Kelly joined the 3Q team in October of 2016. Originally from Mountain View, California, she graduated with a Marketing Management degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Since then, she has had the honor of supporting the marketing efforts of several great Silicon Valley-based companies, including AppDynamics, Granicus, UXPin, and 3Q Digital. She now resides in Austin, where she enjoys warm summers, great music, and breakfast tacos.